[ he nods, taking another swig before handing the bottle back. it's not a pleasant taste, but it cleared out his throat at least. there's deep sympathy in his eyes and he turns them on sumo instead - not wanting hank to think it's pity. it isn't, but rather a deep understanding of how the other man feels. ]

Talking her into anything doesn't fly, in my experience. Occasionally, you can convince her something was her idea... [ but that's about it. ] But, um, if you... If you want, we could stick together on the next one?

[ he quests gently, hand back in the dog's fur as he catches hank's eyes with a more guarded expression. ]